I feel like every time is harder and harder. I’m not always sure about songs, but I still want to keep listening to them. Like, for example, I had the hardest time with Wifey, that I’m not quite sure I love still, but one day I enjoy it, the other I don’t. I still put it here because I thought it was still good enough for the list.

Also, I know Nils Frahm isn’t Korean. But since I discovered him and his music through a Korean channel (distributor of some sort), I thought I could still include it here. Anyway, it’s a the bottom of the list so, if you’re not cool with that, just skip it easily. But you shouldn’t, because it’s terribly beautiful, both the music and the MV they’ve done for it.

I fell in love with Don Quixote2. I cannot get enough of it. I already know it’s going to go on my “Best of KHip-Hop” list. Yes, it’s that good. I realized also that I have a thing for old school hip-hop with old school beat.

I really enjoy U too (no pun intended). I’m definitely going to go and listen to Dear Cloud’s whole album at some point, and even check if they did stuff in the past. Their electro sound is upbeat, yet not too much at the same time, just the kind I like.

I like Zero Gravity, though it’s not my favorite Zion.T track. It’s really soft, but it doesn’t have the same hook as Yanghwa BRDG did. The MV is quite pretty still. And the song isn’t bad, I’m not saying that. I think it’s more that you need to be in the mood for it, it won’t put you in a mood exactly, or you have to listen to it a few times before it does. I just hope we can get an album of a mini from Zion.T this year because I’m really curious to see what he comes up with next.

Wasn’t completely on board with Miss A’s Only You, mainly because of the chorus that breaks a little with the verse’s rhythm. But the saxophone sound caught me hehe. Not my favorite from Miss A either though.

Beautiful Girl is alright too, though it’s kinda of a Korean coverage of the original song from Sean Kingston. I still love Skull and Haha, I would just have prefered something original from them.

I’m not 100% sold about both Giriboy songs but the last one, Adult, is easy to listen to. I might try to listen to them at least a few more time to see if I can “tame” them somehow.

Bom Bom Bom is old.

Just like Ice Cream Cake, I also wasn’t sure about Automatic, but it also got caught in my head and stuck there. I don’t even like the chorus all that much, but I cannot seem to shake it of. So I don’t know. Listen to it at your own risk I guess…

I like the chorus of Wifey, but all in all, it’s not an outstanding song. It kinda fall flat a little bit, and even more when you compare to Yasisi

Two great new songs this week. First, Geako made his solo comeback, and Zion.T is featured in it. So, just like that, it would be really hard to screw this song up. And it’s just a really good song, well-balanced between the lyrical chorus and the rap part, and then with HA:TFELT’s part.

Then there’s Christmalo.win. I really can’t get enough of this song. I really like the pop rock vibe and the MV… oh the MV… The Cinema ver. is 9min long, but it’s worth the time. It’s sooooooo well done! It’s probably the coolest MV of the year, seriously. So yeah, it’s really a great comeback.

The new AKMU track is quite alright, but it’s not their best song either. It’s still way better than most ballads on this chart though.

Now, about Younha’s new track. Most of the time, I have trouble when Younha goes for a really classic ballad style. I usually need some upbeat part to save it or some kind of Younha twist that she only can create. Wasted is more of a classic ballad and I cannot say it has that “twist” exactly. But man, I LOVE that song, A LOT! The MV is good, though it’s not great (if I remember correctly, most of her MVs are that way anyway). The song is just really poignant. Like you can feel all the emotion pouring while she sing the chorus. So yeah, definitely check it out more than once (it took me more than one try to really fall in love with it, but the second time around, I was hooked for good).

I’m not that happy with the many ranks tracks from Kim Dong Ryul album are taking in the chart (my Zion.T is bumped to rank 26…). It’s ballad all over so, yeah, not happy.

Now, about IU’s song. In fact, it’s not exactly her song since it’s SeoTaiJi’s song. She doing her version of it for some kind of project. This song as a special place in my heart, not so much because of the melody, the lyrics or the MV, but because of the subject. Sogyeokdong is an actual place in South Korea where SeoTaiJi grew up. But for all the history part of the MV, I’ll redirect you to this post who will do a better job at explaining it all than me : What is Seo Taiji’s Sogyeokdong? Anyway, that part of Korea’s history is one of my favorite one ever because it’s really really dark and not that well-known. And I think it’s awesome that someone is bringing it to light through Kpop since I’m sure most fan don’t really know/care about Korean history, except when there’s a historical drama with some hot dude in it. But I’ve never really seen a drama about that period either (maybe because it would be too intense, too violent, too sad to bear – maybe for political reasons, but that’s another issue, and it’s a bit too complicated to explain it all here). About the music, I really like the way they used the electronic sound at the start and I think I like the intro more than the whole song. I’m really looking forward to SeoTaiJi version because, even though I like IU, I don’t love her version all that much. That said, I do like the song. Anyway, we shall see.

I like The Space Between, mainly because of Soyu’s voices. The melody makes me think of another song but I cannot quite figure it out.

I also like Don’t Touch Me, from Ailee. I feel like we’ve got our Ailee back, the real one, not the one who’s trying to be Beyoncé. This song sounds a lot more like what she was singing for her debut, and I prefer that. It’s fun, but I don’t know if it’s a song that will stay with me for a very long time. It’s a bit generic I guess.

Then, my Zion.T came back. I wasn’t sure at first since his song is even softer than last year song (Miss Kim) and doesn’t really have any “wow” moment vocally. But the emotional vibe and the storytelling mood took me away. And I really really like it. Surely, it will be one of my favorite this month, but I’m also terribly biased when it comes to Zion.T.

Surprisingly enough, I’ve got good words to say about the new song from Teen Top. I usually really really don’t like their style of music, but this time, I like the overall mood of the song and MV, which is way more “mature” than what they do. And even though it’s a ballad, it’s still rhythmic enough so it doesn’t bore me to death. So yeah, keep it up Teen Top! Missing is really a great song so you should also check it out even if you don’t like the group.

But then, there’s the new Verbal Jint song, I Smell Autumn. It’s pure perfection. Seriously, what an awesome song for the start of autumn. Eddy Kim is divine as usual. They’ve balanced both voices and parts very nicely, both of them popping here and there in the other’s part. The MV isn’t the greatest one, but it fits well with the song with his vintage look. So far, it might even be one of my favorite song of the month.

I think I like Hate from Epitone Project, but I’m not sure because I think I might just have that feeling “I’ve heard that somewhere before”. It sounds like a song from a OST. So I don’t know. But it’s pretty.

And, so far, one of my favorite Clazziquai Project new song from their new album is Still I’m By Your Side. It’s really high up in my favorite songs for September too. I really like the upbeat rhythm and the MV is simple yet creative and ingenious. They are really killing it this year, seriously.

First off : I’m disappointed with Crayon Pop new song. It lacks this pop cheerleading sound that made their Christmas song and Bar Bar Bar such great song. I’m even not that fond of the dance. I think, in fact, that I like the beat of the very first part of the MV way more than any part of the song…

I really like Yasisi. I though, after watching some MV teaser that I would just but terribly tacky and in some way, the MV is a bit, but the song is just really enjoyable. My favorite part is the chorus, but mainly the first part of it. I always want to burst out dancing when she says “Baby touch like that, touch like that”, it’s just soooo catchy. And, even though the dance is kinda really simple, I like it too.

I kinda like 2 Years Apart too. I’ve seen some acoustic live stuff from Eddy Kim since I’m a subscriber or Mystic89 channel on YouTube (and they’re promoting the hell out of this kid). It’s fun yet not like the kind of sound you’re that used to in Korean music most of the time. It has this lay back acoustic vibe to it, something smooth, yet still really groovy. It might take more than one time to really dig it though, but it’s still pretty enjoyable from the start.

While listening to Stalker, I’ve realised I have a lot of trouble listening to music, mainly rapper, that are swearing at a woman or women in general. I know some of them out there are not always the best human being ever, I get that. But it’s just that I feel there’s already so much violence and hatred towards women as it is that adding some on top of that, calling them “hoes”, “bitch”, and stuff, saying “fuck you” to them is maybe a bit uncalled for. It’s not that I have trouble with swearing in general, in fact I feel it’s a great way to express anger, but there’s some situation I don’t like it, like this one. It’s really really really far from the happy” twist of the numerous “fuck you” in Cee Lo Green song for example. Maybe it has to do with the background of rap and the culture it got associated with or the way they say it, kinda harsh and all. I don’t know.

It’s a shame that Chisa’Bounce isn’t a bit better. I feel like it’s lacking something catchy, like in the chorus or something. It’s a shame mainly because I think Kang Nam is really talented and I would like to see more of him (even though he says he admires Chris Brown, that’s a shame too). But the song is not special enough to be really good. And I think at one point, it might be a good idea to let go of the association between the name of the group and the movie Men In Black because it’s kinda getting old.